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I usually roast beets to make a salad or soup. Roasted beets with roasted walnut and goat cheese, seasoned with honey, balsamic vinegar and pepper for salad. As for Borsht Soup, how can it be made without beets? I pressure cook Celery, onion, garlic, potato and tomatoes along with roasted beets. It is ready in about 15 minutes. Then, all that is needed to enjoy it is a dollop of sour cream and and some freshly ground pepper

But this fall, I have been making a lot of beet ~ paronte (flat bread) ….

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What does one do with a plethora of fresh green onion tops ? Having no patience for blanching and freezing, I decided to chop them and dehydrate them in the lowest temperature in my oven for about 5 hours. Now that I have green powder, I wanted to make a delicious, wholesome soup mix, the Instant kind, that can be cooked by just pouring hot water… When it comes to wholesome food, nothing like a combination of rice and dal ( carbohydrates and protein).. So here goes!!! Continue reading “Instant “Kichdi” Soup”→

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“Can you name some spices that are native to India?”, whenever I ask any class at school, Instantly a couple hands shoot up and I hear, “Curry.” I have heard it so many times over the last seven years, that now….whenever I am talking about food and spices from India, my opening line is, “Curry is not a spice!” Now lets talk about the real spices – Pepper, Tumeric, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin, Mace and so on……

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What has food got to do with Robots? Well! Dinners fund the passion for building Robots. So all our dinners have been fundraisers for our Robotics team – X Team. About 16 of them. Our very first dinner was for the earthquake victims in Nepal and the second one was for a soccer coach’s baby that needed an operation . After that, all our fundraisers have been for X Team Robotics. This Jan 27th, X Team dressed as Musketeers, won the Montana State Championship, at the FTC ( Robotics competition) in Bozeman. Thanks to my world famous designer niece, Karishma @ http://www.KKristina.com, who designed these awesome costumes for our Musketeers. It was really an exciting moment for all of us to win the top award after four years of Robotics.

Our X Team – Musketeers in action at the state tournament in Bozeman

XTeam Musketeers – intense momentsAll for one One for all, United we stand divided we fall

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This lovely tree in my backyard is my inspiration for making this cake. I have been enjoying the sweet, juicy plums along with the squirrels…. but then there are so many more, so I tweaked a recipe of Fig Almond cake ( from NY times) & made it my own……

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“Half a spoon ( about 1 teaspoon) is enough!”, my mother would say. The first thing I learned about cooking veggies was “add some haldi ( turmeric)” after about two – three minutes of sauteing, be it potatoes, peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, they all needed that little bit of haldi, followed by a dash of salt. Cook on low heat for about 20 – 25 minutes until done, finish with a sprinkle of garam masala. Simple, easy & delicious!

Namak Daani ( Traditional spice box)

My mom’s spices were all freshly ground and stored in this Namak Daani ( spice box) a standard feature at many North Indian homes. She could whip up 5 – 6 dishes for a crowd coming over for dinner in a couple hours. Be it 15 people or 50 people, her estimate on how much to make was always perfect. And the food always delicious!!! She kept it simple, by using Haldi and Garam masala as her primary spice agents. To get that touch of tanginess in Cholle ( garbanzo bean masala) she would add freshly crushed Anardana (dry Pomegranate seeds), or raw green chillies to spice up the saag( steamed greens) or raw chopped red onions on the side to add that crunch to the daal.

Dry turmeric would always be spread out in the sun before being taken to the mill to be ground into a fine powder. After I moved away from home, I always got to bring a jar back, each time I visited them, for the next 20 years. My father dutifully made packets for me to take along, even though I had plenty of stock. So, I could share fresh turmeric powder with my friends as well – the abundance of it all.

Now, I look at the few jars I have left and wonder if I should leave them as keepsakes, as this tradition of drying and grinding turmeric at our home in India has come to an end….

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I made Squash Blossom – Dolmas today! Thanks to my friend who plucked 50 blossoms from her garden and a suggestion by Ronit Penso of Tasty Eats. They were super delicious and easy to make. It reminded me of the time, we soccer moms stood around the kitchen counter making samosas for a fundraiser! Dolmas would be fun to make in a group, they would be healthier and quicker to make too… maybe next time.

All I did was, wash the blossoms, fill them with the rice filling, fold them, arrange them in a baking tray with a drizzle of oil and bake them at 400 F for about 20 minutes till the edges turned crisp. As for the filling, I added chopped Parsely & Mint ( 4 – 6 tbsp), Lemon juice ( 3 – 4 Tbsp), Red pepper flakes ( 2 Tbsp) and Sesame oil ( 2 Tbsp) to about 2 cups of cooked Basmati rice.

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My friend, Stephanie gave me Squash blossoms from her garden today. I have never cooked with them before.

What does one do with Squash blossoms? Well I ask Google and find many recipes that urge me to “Fill them up with cheese and then deep fry.” While other recipes call for putting them in Omelets, Frittata, Quesdillas or use them as a Pizza topping.

So now what am I going to do with them? I eat one raw, it is delicious! Then I chop some of the Squash blossoms, put them in an existing Dosa ( crepe) batter. And I make some Dosas for lunch! Delicious!!!

chopped Squash Blossoms

Added tot he dosa batter

Blend well

Pour the batter on a hot griddle

The edges are brown, it is ready to be flipped

Crispy Dosa!

I stir fry the remaining Squash blossoms on a medium-hot sauce pan for about 4 – 5 minutes, then add them to shredded to Red Cabbage -Cucumber salad with a bit of lemon juice and a sprinkle of crushed pepper on the top.

Yummy! Next time, I will stir fry the Squash blossoms with some rice, peas ….and cumin………….